KAVRE, July 10

Authorities in Kavre are mulling over relocating two dozen villages that are highly prone to landslides in the aftermath of the earthquake.

The District Natural Disaster Rescue Committee of Kavre is considering relocating the villages as per an earlier government decision that villages that are vulnerable to landslides and floods in the aftermath of the quake must be relocated.

According to Local Development Officer Chiranjivi Timsina, a member of the District Natural Disaster Rescue Committee, around 300 families of Pokhari, Narayansthan, Sisakhani, Boldephediche, Pokharichauri and Runagregarche need to moved to safer places.

“We’re going to appropriate public land for the purpose and/or could also acquire some private land on rent in order to relocate the families from tomorrow, “ he said, adding, security personnel will be deployed for the task. “Teams from the Nepal Army and Nepal police will start the work from tomorrow and build temporary shelters at the designated places,” LDO Timsina said, work to identify of other vulnerable areas in the district is also underway.

Meanwhile, Rs 1.1 billion allocated by the government as interim relief for the quake victims in the district has fallen short.

Though DNDRC speculated that the number of victim households was inflated, it has failed to confirm it due to the lack of authentic data from the concerned municipal or VDC bodies.

Of the total fund, Rs 13.3 million has been spent for funeral expenses for 332 families who lost their near and dear ones in the tremors and Rs 27.7 million has been spent as relief to victims. Similarly, Rs 744 million has been spent in building temporary shelters for the families who lost their houses.

As per the official data, 50,270 houses were completely destroyed in the quake in the district, whereas other 23,784 houses sustained partial damage.